


Paws For Thought

by Running4chaos



Category: zombies run
Genre: Cat, F/M, I just want Janine to be happy, Major Season 2 Spoilers, is that too much to ask, swearing tw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:00:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26767657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Running4chaos/pseuds/Running4chaos
Summary: *Major Zombies Run Season 2 Spoilers*Without Simon, Janine finds herself rather lonely. But, luckily, she has a furry friend to keep her company
Relationships: Janine De Luca/Simon Lauchlan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Paws For Thought

Janine firmly slammed and locked her large oak door behind her. 

Even if it was cause for celebration that runner 5 was safe and well, grief from runner 8’s sudden demise and Simon unexpected betrayal hung heavily in her lungs. The air felt stiff and cold, despite the warm sun washing in the windows. 

Janine ripped herself from her spot in front of the door and moved into the living room. 

The usual sepia tones of the walls seemed a lot dimmer. Janine had half expected to find Simon draped over the back of her sofa. Usually, this was cause for irritation, as it made a dent in the frame. Looking at it, you could see the place where Simon liked to lie face upwards waiting for Janine to return so he could regale her with various stories of parties gone wrong. 

But Simon wasn’t here anymore. And the dent in the sofa looked rather bare. 

Janine picked up a large, fluffy black blanket and draped it over the back. The blanket held the scent of Simon’s trademark spray, which he always wore far to much off. It was strong and musky, and made Janine’s chest feel a little tight.

Perhaps her chest was sensitive from dust that had gathered somewhere. 

Promptly, Janine set herself to cleaning the room: she gathered some miscellaneous items that had made a home on her floor. They where vitamin bottles. 

Simon always had a habit of putting things in odd places. 

Janine pressed her hand against her face. It felt soft, warm and slightly damp. 

With a sharp inhale, she turned to open the window to try and get some air circulating the room. Sounds of familiar evening bird songs flowed in. 

On evenings such as this, Simon and Janine would lay the black blanket out across the hardwood floor and listen to the birds. Janine would identify the songs and give descriptions of the migration patterns, but Simon tended to try mimic the sounds back. Simon would often completely bodge it, and rather sound like he was screeching, but it was rather entertaining. 

No more of that now. 

Looking down, she saw a cat sunning itself on top of the grass in the last dregs of the light. It was a large tabby, with many scars, a missing ear and was comparable to a sack of bones. Yet Janine recognised it as Cat Simon, runner 3’s pet cat. 

Simon had run in late one day, a few zombies hot on his tail and completely covered in small cuts. When Janine inquired what had caused his lateness and his injuries, he unzipped his jacket to present a skinny, sodden and angry looking moggy. 

‘I couldn’t leave the poor bastard out there. Winters coming, and it’s tipping it down. He put up a fight though, he did, look at what he did to me arm!’ 

Janine had originally opposed to the idea of having yet another mouth to feed at Abel township, but Cat Simon had proved himself quite useful as head mouser, and runner 3 had soon betrothed the cat the title of Cat Simon. 

‘The best name for the best cat.’ He had declared, and was promptly used as a scratching post by the cat in question. 

For Cat Simon’s mousing efforts, Janine had allowed him to eat his rewards, but tended to throw out the remains that he bought back to her. 

Often, Janine would walk into the runners barracks to find Simon sleeping on the floor, because he didn’t want to move the deeply sleeping cat. How somthing so small and bony could take up so much space was beyond any of them, but as soon as Simon tried to move him, it would dig its teeth and claws firmly into his arm. 

This didn’t happen when Janine was about though. She would scoop up a purring Cat Simon and would place him down on the floor so he could find some other place to sleep. That other place tended to be on Janine’s own bed. How Cat Simon found his way up there was beyond her, but every night without fail, Cat Simon would be there curled up happily at the end of Janine’s bed. And every night without fail, cat Simon would bite runner 3’s toes if he got to close. 

Without human Simon, her bed would feel rather empty. 

Cat Simon soon snaked his way up onto the window sill and pressed his face into Janine’s, purring loudly. This was a manoeuvre that cat Simon did to his owner when hungry. Cat Simon promised love in return for food, but usually finished his meal and sauntered off to find somewhere warm to sleep again. 

Cat Simon leapt down into the floor and began winding himself around Janine’s ankles. 

Janine had never wanted Cat Simon in the house, much like Simon himself, but the two would find their way in somehow. Before, Janine would have tossed the beast back outside to find it 5 minutes later firmly asleep atop a pile of pillows. 

Janine could never bring herself to toss Simon out of the farmhouse, and he would often stay the night, along with Cat Simon, who Janine would find firmly asleep atop her face most mornings. 

It was at this point that things got a little much for her. She gathered Cat Simon up in her arms, her chest welled up, her vision got blurry and and began to cry. Purring, cat Simon relaxed Into her arms and wrapped his paws around Janine’s neck in what one could call a hug. The two remained this way for a while, Janine running her hand repeatedly down his soft back and Cat Simon happily purring away. 

Eventually, Janine placed him down and whispered ‘speak not of this’. Not that he could speak of this encounter, but Cat Simon’s eye’s seem to light up with understanding. She tossed him a little bit of the remaining chicken from the cold room and headed upstairs to bed. 


End file.
